The present disclosure relates to a management apparatus for an electrical apparatus, which manages a state of an electrical apparatus, a management method for an electrical apparatus, and a management program.
Families in developed countries use a great number of electrical apparatuses. Generally speaking, if an electrical apparatus breaks down and stops operating, a user usually asks staff in charge of support for the electrical apparatus to repair the electrical apparatus, or purchase a new electrical apparatus. However, it is difficult to predict when an electrical apparatus breaks down, and it is also usually difficult to immediately take measures for the breakdown of the electrical apparatus. Users should endure inconvenience due to the breakdown.
Meanwhile, if a user pays attention, the user sometimes notices a sign of the breakdown of an electrical apparatus. For example, an air conditioner less satisfactorily cools or heats a room, a refrigerator less sufficiently refrigerates food, it takes longer time to dry the laundry, or some noise is generated while an electrical apparatus is operating. When a user notices such a phenomenon, the user feels something is wrong with an electrical apparatus.
However, if a user notices such malfunction of an electrical apparatus, the user does not know to what extent the electrical apparatus is deteriorated. As a result, an electrical apparatus breaks down at last, or a user buys a new electrical apparatus though the user does not actually have to.
The service life of an electrical apparatus has been predicted for many years by measuring a conduction time of the electrical apparatus. For example, JP H06-267258A discloses a service life determination apparatus for consumable parts, which reports to the maker that consumable parts mounted on an electrical apparatus is nearly their last legs, before the consumable parts have reached the service life, and enables the consumable parts to be immediately exchanged when the consumable parts do not work anymore. In JP H06-267258A, a conduction time is accumulated from the time at which the electrical apparatus is turned on to the time at which the electrical apparatus is turned off, and compared with a time relating to the service life of the consumable parts, which has been set in advance. The service life determination apparatus performs control such that a message is output indicating that the consumable parts will reach the time for exchange soon if the accumulated conduction time is shorter than the time relating to the service life and if a time obtained by subtracting the accumulated conduction time from the time relating to the service life falls within a predetermined time. To the contrary, control is performed such that a message is output indicating that the consumable parts want exchanging if the accumulated conduction time is equal to or greater than the time relating to the service life. Accordingly, malfunction caused by the service life of consumable parts can be greatly prevented.
JP 2009-159102A discloses a management system including an electrical apparatus configured to include apparatus identification information for identifying types of apparatuses, and a management apparatus configured to connect to the electrical apparatus via a communication network. In JP 2009-159102A, the management apparatus acquires a time relating to the service life, and the date of manufacture of the connected electrical apparatus, and measures a time (first time of use) elapsed since the electrical apparatus has been manufactured and an accumulated conduction time (second time of use) of the electrical apparatus. If the management apparatus determines that at least one of the first time of use and the second time of use has reached the time relating to the service life, the management apparatus determines that the electrical apparatus is nearly on its last legs or has reached the service life. In addition, the management apparatus is configured to report to a display device, an electrical device, or a mobile phone that the electrical apparatus is nearly on its last legs or has reached the service life. Accordingly, a user can be notified as the determination result that, for example, an electrical apparatus is nearly on its last legs or has reached the service life, while loads or costs of the electrical apparatus can also be suppressed.